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Towns / Tennessee

Bluff City, Tennessee

Bluff City is a suburb of about 1,800 people in Sullivan County, Tennessee, in the Johnson City area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.6 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Knoxville, is about 99 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Johnson City

Population
1,836
up 1.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$157,400
Sullivan County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$61,059
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Kingsport area
86.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Bristol, TN
To Knoxville
99 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 13.6% below the U.S. average in the Kingsport-Bristol metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood9 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 14.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byWellmont Bristol Regional Medical Center in Bristol, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKnoxville is about 99 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Bluff City meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Bluff City runs into the built-up area around Johnson City (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$157,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Sullivan County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$931 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$61,059U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
62%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$867 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940
9%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
20%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
86.4U.S. average = 100 (the Kingsport-Bristol metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Kingsport-Bristol metro area, not Bluff City alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,8362020: 1,814
Median age
35.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
10%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
15%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Manufacturing (18%); retail (17%); professional and business services (13%)
Average commute
26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Wellmont Bristol Regional Medical Center, Bristol, TN, about 8 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Bluff City, run by Sullivan County.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Tennessee's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
86%U.S.: 76%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
26°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
23 a year
Nights at or below freezing
94 a year
Rain and melted snow
44 inches a year
Snow
9 inches a year
Elevation
1,546 feet

Weather station: Bristol Tri City Ap (7 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Wellmont Bristol Regional Medical Center, Johnson City, Knoxville.

Sullivan County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail13 miles
  • Blue Ridge Parkway35 miles
  • Andrew Johnson National Historic Site37 miles

Read about Bluff City's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bluff City?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Watauga, TN364 people, 6 miles
  • Biltmore, TN (unincorporated)1,846 people, 7 miles
  • Walnut Hill, TN (unincorporated)2,415 people, 8 miles
  • Hunter, TN (unincorporated)1,918 people, 8 miles
  • Central, TN (unincorporated)1,938 people, 9 miles
  • Gray, TN (unincorporated)2,237 people, 11 miles
  • Pine Crest, TN (unincorporated)2,029 people, 12 miles
  • Valley Forge, TN (unincorporated)2,136 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.